Brief case



S. H. LIFTON July 18, 1950 BRIEF CASE Filed Nov. 18, 1946 ATTORNEYPatented July 18 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRIEF CASE Samuelv H.Lifton, New York, N. Y.

Application November 18, 1946; Serial No. 710,715 2 Claims. (01. rec-re)The present invention relates to. a. brief. case andit particularlyrelates to improvements in. a brief case of the: type shown in my Patent2,039,913, dated May 5, 1936, having front and rear leather wallsappropriately interconnected by a: flexible gusset. characterized by apluralit3 of longitudinally. disposed spaced partitions to defineseveral compartments.

It: is. among the-primary objects of the present invention to provide abrief case of the character described having greatly enhancedflexibility in all' directions without sacrifice of strength, andwithout sharpedges and with a more pleasing rounded attractiveappearance.

Another objectis to provide an improved, dur' able, reinforced briefcase of the character described: free of readily frangiblereinforcements, which will readily permit of expansion to receivevoluminous papers yet readily return to its normal empty flat shapewithout permanent deformation.

A further object is to provide an inexpensive, yet rugged brief case ofthe character described which is practical and inexpensive inconstruetion, and which may be economically manufactured.

Still further objectsand advantageswill appear in the more detaileddescription set forth below, it being understood, however, that thismore detailed description is given by way of illustration andexplanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes maybe made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from thescope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found desirable toinclude a plurality of resilient U-shaped nested continuous round wireelements in the front and rear walls of the brief case along thebottom-and side margins thereof as reinforcements. The ends of said wireelements are protected so as not to project through the walls of thecase and the sides thereof are desirably covered by leather or otherprotective strips which may be. stitched and adhesively connected to themain sections. of. the case.

The invention also consists in certain new and original features ofconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimedand as to its other objects, features and advantages, the mode ofoperation and. manner of its organization, these, inter alia, may bebetter understood by referring to the following description consideredin connection with the 2i accompanying drawings formingv a part thereofin which:

Fig. 1. is a perspective View of a brief case according. tot myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a. transverse sectional view taken on the line. 2-2 of Fig. 1upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 1.

Fig.3 isan exploded or disassembled view, illustrat'ing the nestedU-shaped reinforcing wires and the cover strips therefor to be mountedagainst the inner face of a front or rear wall of the case- Fig. 4 is aninside elevational view of the front wall withthe reinforcements inposition.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 4 upon asomewhat enlarged scale and broken away better to show the construction.

Fig; 6 is an inside elevational view of the: rear wall with thereinforcements in position.

Fig. 7' illustrates in top view an enlarged fragmentary portion of theend of the reinforcing frame shown in Fig. 3 illustrating the welded orsoldered connection.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, inside elevational view of one of the cornersof the case upon an enlarged scale with on of the cover strips partlyliftedaway;

Fig. 9' is a fragmentary inside elevational view of the upper ends ofthe nested U-shaped wire reinforcements at one side of the briefcasewith the cover strips partly lifted away, and Fig; 10 is a. fragmentaryvertical cross sec tionalview upon the line llllfl of Fig. 4 and upon anenlarged scale as compared. to Fig. 4 showing how the ends of the legsof the reinforcements are protected.

The brief case as shown in Figs- 1. to 9 has a main front wall A, a mainrear wall B, a cover flap C constituting an extension of the rear wallB,.the. reinforcement constructions D, connecting flexible bellows orgusscts E and spaced partitions FL. The elements A, B, C, E and F may beof leather, plastics, or other sheet materials of natural or syntheticorigin having. the necessary flexibility and appearance.

Appropriately secured to flap C and front wall A: are. thedisconnectable' complementary locking members 15 and It for holding flapC in closed position and attached to an intermediately reinforcedportion ll of the rear wall B is a swingable handle l8.

Spaced straps I9 and 2a] are slidably connected to the front, rear andtop wall of the case and 3 serve as complementary sustaining means forholding the flap C against the front wall A although complementarymembers l5 and I6 may be in an interlocked relation.

The front and rear walls A and B are each suitably reinforced by astrengthening frame, generally denoted D and each frame consists ofnested substantially U-shaped rounded wire members as illustrated.

Each frame D comprises spaced sides 2| interconnected by an integralbottom element 22.

The frames D as shown consist of three nested U-shaped flexible andresilient wire elements 26, 21 and 28 (see Fig. '7) of circular crosssection closely nested yet slightly spaced apart particularly adjacentthe corners (see Figs. 3 and 5). The upper ends of the legs 2| arewelded, soldered or brazed together as indicated at 2|] in Fig. 7slightly below the ends 24 thereof. The spacing between the U-shapedelements 26, 21 and 28 is indicated at 25 in Fig. 7.

So that the U-shaped elements 26, 2'! and 28 will lie flat eachsuccessive element has a slightly greater width between the legs 2|, aslightly greater depth from the ends 24 of the legs 2| to the bottomsections 22. .The greater width and depth is just slightly greater ineach instance than the diameter of wire elements 25, 21 and 28 making upthe reinforcements D which will give the spacing 25.

It is apparent that a greater or lesser number of U-shaped elements 26,21 and 28 than three may be used to form the reinforcements D and thatother cross sectional shapes than round may be employed such as square,hexagon, elliptical and so forth.

The legs 2| and the bottom sections 22 of the reinforcements D arecovered by the rectangular leather strips 29 and 30 as shown in Figs. 3,8 and 9. These strips 29 and 30 are adhesively secured as indicated at3| and 32 in Fig. 8 and at 33 and 34 in Fig. 9 and are also stitchedinto position as indicated at 35 and 36. The stitchings 35 and 36 extendthrough the strips 29 and-the walls A and B, while the stitching 36 alsoextends through the gusset construction E.

It will be noted in Fig. 8 that the side cover strips 29 terminate at 31short of the corners 23 of the reinforcements D, while the ends 38 ofthe strips 39 continue to the side edges of the walls A and B and coverthe corners 23.

In respect to the ends 24 of the legs 2| of the elements 26, 21 and 28(see Figs. 9 and these are inserted between the flaps 39 and 46 of thebifurcated end protector 4| which is both adhesively connected andstitched at 42 to the front wall A, as well as the rear wall B. The endsof the strips 29 as shown in Figs. 4 and 6 will extend beyond andcompletely cover and conceal the end protectors 4|.

In assembly the nested wire reinforcements D are laid in position on theinside faces of the walls A and B after adhesive 32 and 34 has beenapplied to the marginal inside faces of said walls. Then the endreinforcements 4| are first applied, followed by the side strips 29 andthe bottom strips 30. The stitching 35 is then first applied followed bythe stitching 36 and the case is assembled thereafter in theconventional manner.

If desired another but shorter U-shaped nested reinforcement may beapplied at 44 in the flap C to reinforce and strengthen said flap.

The final construction will have flexibility in all directions andreturn readily to flat shape after accidental or deliberate deformation.There will be no sharp edges, readily rupturable rivet connections orprojecting metal corners or ends. The nestedconstruction D will assurenormal flat position of the walls A and B and the gaps 25, whilepermitting sufi'icient free play, will enable the reinforcements D toreadily snap back into desired positions. The assembly and manufacturewill be simple and inexpensive.

To enhance the appearance of the front and rear walls A and B, thesewalls may be embossed as indicated at 46 and 41 in Fig. 1 to formrecesses in which the reinforcements D may be positioned.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction anddifferent embodiments of the invention could be made without departingfrom'the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense, for example,although the reinforcing members have been set forth particularly inconnection with a brief case, it is to be understood that such membersmay be applied to any type of envelope, or article holding means.

What is claimed is:

1. A carrying case having flat flexible front and rear walls and areinforcing construction therefor, comprising a plurality of closelynested resilient U-shaped wire elements positioned closely adjacent tothe interior margins of said walls, said wire elements being slightlyspaced apart except at the ends of the legs thereof and being integrallyconnected at the ends of the legs.

2. A brief case comprising; an outer flexible wall, strengthening meansdisposed on the inner face of said wall along and within the lower andside margins thereof and embodying a plurality of closely nestedU-shaped resilient and flexible round wire elements arranged within saidmargins, the elements having superimposed horizontal members integralwith spaced vertically arranged legs, said horizontal members beingslightly spaced apart, said legs being also slightly spaced apart andsecured together only at their free ends, and strips covering saidelements and secured to said margins.

SAMUEL H. LIF'ION.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Valentine July 14, 1942

